diff --git a/kernel/rtlil.cc b/kernel/rtlil.cc
index aa4743a87..2045d4f95 100644
--- a/kernel/rtlil.cc
+++ b/kernel/rtlil.cc
@@ -606,8 +606,7 @@ std::string RTLIL::Const::decode_string() const
 				ch |= 1 << j;
 			}
 		}
-		if (ch != 0)
-			s.append({ch});
+		s.append({ch});
 	}
 	i -= 8;
 	for (; i >= 0; i -= 8) {
@@ -617,10 +616,12 @@ std::string RTLIL::Const::decode_string() const
 				ch |= 1 << j;
 			}
 		}
-		if (ch != 0)
-			s.append({ch});
+		s.append({ch});
 	}
-	return s;
+	auto first_char = s.find_first_not_of('\0');
+	if (first_char != std::string::npos)
+		return s.substr(first_char);
+	else return s;
 }
 
 int RTLIL::Const::size() const {